Returning Home Return to the Labyrinth
by NeonMoonlight
Summary: Sarah gets a surprise when she finds out her Husband is more than she thought.
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: You all know which characters are not mine. Just loved the movie and wanted to take it somewhere I wanted it to go. My first published work, be gentle! Enjoy!

PROLOGUE

Looking back on it now, everything made sense. Hindsight was always 20/20, but she felt moronic not to have seen it earlier. Yet, how could she have? She had been made to forget, the truth hidden from her so well that even the worlds best psychiatrists would have never found it with years of hypnosis. Magic was like that. It had a way of keeping itself out of the way if it needed to be.

Sarah leaned in closer to the window seat she was currently occupying and took a deep breath of the sweet fragrant air coming in through the open window. Everything was green again, making the view from her window look more like a painting than reality. It all made sense to her now that she could see clearly again and she knew in her heart that she was finally and truly home.

Chapter 1 – The Beginning

She was in love. For the first time in her life it had actually happened. For so many years she had asked all her Married friends, "How do you know? I've thought that I was in love so many times, how do you really know?" The answer had always been the same. "You just know!" "Yes, but HOW?" she would always ask in return. No one could tell her exactly what to look for, or how she was supposed to feel, so she continued from guy to guy, hoping that she would find what she was looking for. Then one day, it happened, and now she knew she was in love with the man who would make her happy for the rest of her life.

It was strange how they met, it had been in the same park she always used to practice her play lines in. She had been siting quietly on a stone bench, reading, when her dog Merlin jumped up and started running towards this handsome man walking in her general direction. She had tried to reach the insane mutt before he knocked the poor man over, but she had been too late.

"Oh, no! I am so sorry!" she said worriedly, running up to the prostate man. "Merlin!" she exclaimed to the dog. "I'm really, sorry. He's usually afraid of people he doesn't know!"

The man was lying calmly on the ground, a smile on his face, looking almost like he was having some sort of mental conversation with the old dog. He finally looked up at her and his smile got wider. "It's not a problem." he told her.

Sarah was blushing by the time he got to his feet, Merlin finally agreeing to let him up off the ground. It was at that moment, when their eyes finally met that she felt shocked to her core. It was like looking into the eyes of an old friend, someone she had made countless memories with all ready, in another life maybe? She couldn't decide, all she knew was in that moment her heart was lost to him and she knew they would be together for an eternity.

"Really, don't look so shocked! I'm fine, he was just happy to see me, I suppose." the man told her, smiling again. Her legs felt like jello when he did that.

"I'm glad you're alright! I've never seen him do that before, he's practically ancient in dog years." she looked down at her companion wagging his tail steadily beside her, then up at the man in front of her. "Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked, suddenly.

"Not likely," he said looking into her eyes. "I'm new in town. Just arrived yesterday actually. Not too sure of my way around yet. But this park crossed my path and I thought I'd take a stroll. Obviously, I made the right choice." he smiled at her again, making her blush even more.

"Oh, well I guess so, if you don't mind being knocked over by a fifty pound ball of fur!" Sarah laughed.

"It was well worth the trip." he told her honestly.

They exchanged names, heading down to the nearest coffee shop and chatted about life and themselves for a bit. After that was history, as it is so often put. They fell in love, Married and were inseparable. Jareth had never had the mortal nerve to tell Sarah about how he had come to be in the park that day, or what he had given up to spend the rest of his, now mortal life to be with her. She loved him for who he was now and he really didn't feel like ruining it. For either of them.

Truth be told, he had decided to give up all he had gained as Goblin King in order to come to her world and be with her. It had not been an easy decision, as some might have thought it would be. He was a King, after all. He ruled countless, well goblins and had the power of magic at his beckon call. And after all, he HAD decided to give it all up in the end anyway, so no harm done there either. But now, after three years of being human and Married to the woman he loved, something in the back of his mind kept bothering him. It wasn't Sarah, or their life together. They had a beautiful home he had helped her acquire with his human job, a boring and rather uninteresting thing he only did because it seemed like magic to him, the only piece of his old life he really had enjoyed. Type in a bunch of nonsense words into a machine and images and sounds popped up. He was actually quite good at it, and had become a supervisor in no time. So, no, it was not his life with Sarah that was niggering at him in the back of his head.

He was sitting on the windowsill in their bedroom, staring up at the midnight sky. In his hands was a crystal he had snuck away with him when he had been sent here. Usually it showed rainbow colors to him, a sign that everything back 'home' was all right. For the past few days, however, it was dark, cloudy as if there was no light shining in the underground anymore. Like something was covering up the images he wished to see. Sarah turned in bed then, her brow furrowed at whatever dream she was having. He watched her for a moment, wishing he could take the discomfort of her dream away from her. But that was all behind him now. He was as mortal as she, except that he had his memories of the Labyrinth and the underground intact. And as much as he wished to give those back to her, he could not. That magic was more powerful than he, and only she could bring them forth, when she wished to.


	2. Seeing Is Believing

Chapter 2 – Seeing is Believing

Jareth pulled their car into the long road leading up to their favorite camping spot. This was their vacation this year, having seen so many other places since being Married, they wanted to get back to their roots, where they had built the heavy foundation of their relationship sitting across from a fire and talking or telling stories. Jareth had her beat sometimes with the stories he told. She almost could feel as if they were real.

Sarah looked over at him and smiled with excitement in her eyes. Never really thinking that she had been a camping person, it was Jareth who had gotten her to go in the first place. Now she couldn't think of a place where she was happier with him, outside in nature, exploring the world that hadn't yet been touched by humans it seemed.

"It's been too long." Sarah sighed, climbing out of the car and stretching her tired legs.

"That it has been." Jareth agreed, popping open the trunk and grabbing the tent. "We weren't quite Married yet when we were here last."

Sarah smiled at the way he talked sometimes. It sounded like he was from another world. But it was just something else that made her go weak in the knees when they were together. After a quick set up of the tent, they decided to go for a hike. Sarah pulled out her GPS unit and started tracking a Geocache she had wanted to find. The name of it was 'Underground, Back Home' and it was just hidden a few days ago. No one had found it yet, and she had yet to have a first time find. It was fairly close and she took the lead, winding her way almost expertly through the trees and rocks as they steadily climbed up the mountain they were staying on.

"I still don't understand why you use that pitiful machine." Jareth told her scoldingly.

Sarah threw him a look over her shoulder as she neatly avoided a fallen tree. "What else would I use? Women's intuition?" she teased.

"Something like that." he answered under his breath. Suddenly, the crystal he carried with him in his pocket jumped to the left. A moment later, Sarah turned left as well. A few more feet and the crystal again moved, this time to the right. Again, Sarah turned right only a second after. His own intuition was telling him they were heading toward something important. "Let me show you what I mean..." Jareth put a hand on her shoulder and slowed her so he could pass her.

"So, you're going to find this cache without any help? No coordinates or anything? Just going on intuition?" she chided him from behind.

"Follow me and learn," he told her. It was a tone she had not heard him use with her often, only when they had gotten themselves lost and he had miraculously gotten them back to their car or camping spot. She kept a close eye on the GPS unit and held back her gasps of surprise each time Jareth took a turn that she was about to suggest before having the chance to do so. They finally came to a stop near a fallen tree trunk. It was on it's side, the roots forming a kind of shelter in front of them. When she looked at the roots for a moment she could almost imagine their being a door hidden somewhere, waiting to take them to another world, that was how large the root system was.

"Well, genius, where's the cache then? Hmm?" Sarah asked him, smiling.

"At least you're admitting my genius. About the cache, what are we looking for exactly?"

"They didn't say. Just that it would be somewhere around here. Look for something that doesn't exactly belong." Still consulting the GPS, Sarah made a quick sweep of the area keeping her eyes peeled for something out of the ordinary. She never would have guessed what was about to happen.

Jareth was leaning on the tree trunk, watching Sarah with pride. She had always been resourceful and never gave up easily, that part of her had never changed since her time with him in the Labyrinth. It made him love her even more, knowing that part of her still existed. As he was about to suggest having some lunch as a break from her endless search, the crystal in his pocket suddenly became very hot, demanding to be released from its imprisonment. As much as he didn't want things to go badly, it seemed as if he had no choice. The time had finally come. He took the crystal out of his pocket and held it up in front of him, a look of complete and utter boredom on his face. The picture was just becoming clear for him when Sarah rounded the corner and saw him.

"What is that?" Sarah asked with interest when she looked up from her GPS again. Jareth was holding what looked like a miniature crystal ball in his hands. It looked as if it would break at any moment if he squeezed too hard. She hadn't seen it on the ground anywhere since she'd been searching for her prize here, and hadn't known Jareth for owning one.

Jareth glanced at her for a moment before turning his gaze back on the crystal in his hand. "It is a crystal." he sighed, knowing this was the beginning of the end. Inside the crystal's depths he could faintly make out his castle. Or what used to be his castle. It now looked as if it had turned black, the spires more menacing than ever before. He felt Sarah next to him, beginning to look at the crystal herself. Her breath caught in her throat as she suddenly saw the picture there, inside. "You'd better find your cache, Sarah. I think it may prove to be more interesting than you first thought."


	3. An Old Friend

Chapter 3 – An Old Friend

It was as if her world had suddenly shifted under her feet. She could feel it as soon as she had seen Jareth holding that crystal. There were so many questions in her head, she couldn't deal with them all at once. So she continued her search for whatever she was looking for. Glancing up, she took stock of Jareth looking into his crystal and was amazed at how much it seemed to fit him, as if she had seen him so this a thousand times before. This bothered her if only because she felt she knew him so well, but the truth was that sometimes he could be very secretive about things as if there was another side to his life that she didn't know.

Feeling a bit out of the loop and perturbed that he wasn't even helping her look for something he felt was suddenly so important, she angrily kicked at a rotted out log. To her surprise it fell apart to reveal a very well hidden golden box. "Jareth!" she shouted. "It's here!"

She could hear him making his way over to where she was now kneeling in front of this box that seemingly had no way to open it. There were no locks, clasps or seams, just a box. "Well, how do you open it? There's nothing here!" Sarah said in exasperation.

"Don't take it for granted, Sarah, of course there's a way to open it, you just have to figure out how."

At these words she looked up at him. She knew she had heard them somewhere before. Had he said them to her at some time? She couldn't remember, but also couldn't help being a bit angered by them. "I'm not taking it for granted! It's just that there's no lock or " she looked back at the box and gasped, "how did that get there? It wasn't there before!"

The box now had a key sticking out of it, just waiting for her to turn it. Placing a shaking hand on the key, she felt Jareth's hand on her back. "Better put that down before you do that." he told her, knowing that this box was a special box and from what he remembered about special boxes, they always held a surprise.

Sarah did as she was told, placing the box down in front of her. Then she very carefully turned to golden key. As soon as she did so, the top flew open and rainbow sparks flew across the forest floor. She jumped back, holding onto Jareth for protection, not knowing what was going to happen next. Before she had a chance to think, a small furry dog like creature jumped from the box, landing on his feet in front of them casually. He looked up at them and bowed deeply.

"My Liege! My Lady! It has been too long since I have had the pleasure of seeing you both!" the furry creature said, bowing again.

"Sir Didymus." Jareth said with a small smile. "something of great importance has brought you here no doubt." the smile disappeared with these words.

Sarah immediately let go of Jareth's waist and took a step away from them both. Jareth hardly seemed to notice, his eyes fixed on the knee high creature in front of him.

"Yes, Sire. I have cometh to regal you about your throne. My Liege, it is with a heavy heart that I tell you of these horrible deeds since thou hast left us. Since that most fateful day when thou decided to take away his powers and..."

"SIR Didymus!" Jareth yelled, annoyed. "Do get on with it!"

"My apologies, Sire. There is must unrest in your kingdom. The goblins have taken the throne and the head of those most wretched creatures, Angoth, wears your cloak and holds your scepter. The Labyrinth..."

"The Labyrinth?" Sarah breathed out loud from behind them. It was her favorite book of all time. She could not imagine it ever being real.

Both Jareth and Sir Didymus looked at her. Of course Sir Didymus had no idea that her memory of the Labyrinth had been efficiently hidden from her. Jareth could only guess as to how she was feeling right now. He wondered if it's mention would bring back memories for her.

"Yes, my Fair Lady, the Labyrinth is in disrepair, having been taken over by the goblins themselves." Sir Didymus turned his attention back to Jareth. "You must return, Sire. You must regain your rightful throne and make things right again!"

"I'm drunk, aren't I?" Sarah asked to anyone who might listen. She had sunk down onto a log and was staring into space, trying to get a grip on herself. "I don't remember drinking, but I must be hallucinating because I'm horribly, horribly drunk."

Jareth took pity on Sarah, he walked over to where she sat and smiled down at her. "No, child you are not drunk. There is much you need to hear and remember. And I don't know how much time we have."

"No time at all, Sire!" Sir Didymus ran to them. "We must leave now, this night!" He sobered a bit before he said, "The Lady Sarah, she, does not remember?"

"No, my friend. She does not know of her time spent Underground. It will be a difficult road for her to travel."

"Underground?" Sarah had had enough. She stood up roughly and looked at Jareth in the eye. "What exactly is going on here? Are you trying to annoy me, get me angry? What game are you playing, Jareth? We were supposed to go camping! Rekindle our romance! Now you're talking to a dog, holding crystals that show you pictures and calling ME a child? This is not working for me right now. I DEMAND to know what is going on!"

Jareth tried not to laugh at his beautiful, fired up wife. And he honestly didn't know what to say to her. "My dear, this is not a game I'm afraid. There are things you don't know about me. Or I should say rather, don't remember about me. But that will all fix itself in time. For now, we must return to the Underground."


	4. Return To The Underground

Chapter 4 – Return to the Underground

Sarah watched with growing shock as the little being who was called Sir Didymus walked toward the huge fallen tree's roots and tapped on it three times declaring, "I wish to return to the Underground!"

Almost immediately, the roots groaned, spewing dust and small twigs as they suddenly parted, as if a door had been there the entire time. "Well, if I would have known it was THAT easy.." Jareth said more to himself than anyone else.

"This is not happening. This is not real." Sarah kept repeating to herself. Then she realized that Sir Didymus was speaking again and fell silent.

"After you, my Liege, my Lady," he bowed deeply, a furry arm outstretched toward the opening for them to go first. Sarah looked to Jareth for some guidance in the situation. Surely he would not go through that doorway. He just couldn't. It wasn't real! This was just some sort of bad food issue she was having, it HAD to be. But instead of Jareth taking her by the hand and heading back to their campsite, he took her hand and gently led her into the dark opening beyond the doorway. She tried to pull back but his grip on her was firm and commanding. There was no other choice but to follow.

So through the doorway they went. No light ahead of them and a resounding 'BOOM' as the doorway behind them shut, leaving no trace of it behind. They were on their way. Sarah was desperately trying to keep calm, he could tell by the way her hand was reflexively squeezing his from time to time as they marched onward toward the opening on the other side. He had no idea what to expect when they got there. Would his powers return automatically? A battle was certainly ahead of him, what with his throne being taken over by a bloody goblin. But anyone could have seen that coming a mile away. But what lied ahead of them was as good a guess for him as anyone else's could be. Before he could ponder any more of his questions, light began to shine before them, telling them they were indeed nearing his world.

They had emerged from the tunnel some time ago and were following Sir Didymus through dense foliage. Is she tried hard enough, Sarah could almost pretend that they were walking in a familiar forest. But try as she might, she could not ignore the fact that the fungus clinging to the trees had eyes that followed them wherever they went and to her dismay every now and again a small insect or caterpillar would look at them and actually say hello. No matter the number of times the mantra of 'This is not happening' was thought, within the next few steps she was undoubtedly reminded that it was indeed as real as it could be.

Stopping for a moment so Sir Didymus could get his bearings, Sarah wandered over to a large square bush. It was very beautiful with pink and white flowers covering it in entirety. As she bent to smell the fragrant flowers, the bush sneezed, sending her scrambling backwards. Jareth caught her just in time before she tripped and fell over a large rock that had rolled in behind her.

"That bush..." she began.

"Sneezed, yes." Jareth said, as if sneezing bushes were something he was quite used to. Well, HER Jareth wouldn't be used to it, that much was for sure. HER Jareth was amazed by almost anything mechanical or computer related and she was positive that he would not be so calm and cool over a bush sneezing.

"We have been walking for what seems like hours now, Jareth and you still have not told me anything that is going on here. " Sarah turned out of his gentle grasp and looked at him sternly. "You cannot expect me to take much more of this madness without an explanation. I mean, bugs are talking to us, bushes are sneezing for God's sake and you are acting like it's all in a days hike!"

Jareth regarded her with a cool look. How could he begin to explain what exactly WAS happening here? He himself barely knew the extent of their journey. There of course was the past, the agonizingly romantic tale of how he had come to be Aboveground to be with her. All that he had sacrificed and promised. But these answers were not the ones she was looking for at the moment. So, seeing that he did not know where to begin, he didn't. Or at least he never got the chance to.

From beyond the bush that was still sneezing there came the sound of arguing. There was a course sounding voice and a much much deeper voice trying desperately to decide which way they should turn next.

"I tolds ya, they be comin' from this way!"

"Ludo go this way! Find Jareth, Sarah!"

"Ach! You big pile of fur, you wouldn't be able to find your way out of the Labyrinth without me, we're going this way!"

All at once, two creatures appeared from the foliage looking very comical indeed. One so huge and full of fur and the other small and weathered, they certainly were a mismatched pair. Sarah immediately jumped behind Jareth, not knowing what to think.

"Well, well. If it isn't Ludo and Hoggle. The last time I saw you, I believe I was dangling you over the Bog of Eternal Stench." Jareth said, looking at Hoggle with a slight glare.

Hoggle took a little jump backwards and bowed nervously. "Y..you're Majesty."

Ludo, however was more interested in the woman behind Jareth and practically swept him aside to get to her. "Sarah!" he bellowed as he reached to pick her up.

Jareth moved swiftly out of the way, putting up a hand to stop the gentle beast. "Now, now, Ludo. The Lady Sarah is not quite the same as you might remember her. We need to give her some time to adjust to her new surroundings."

"Sarah, ok?" he asked, looking around Jareth at Sarah who was trembling uncontrollably by now.

"She doesn't remember." Sir Didymus spoke up quietly, his sadness coming through in his voice.

All at once, Hoggle stood straighter and with a new confidence took a step forward. "Right, a price she had to pay for your love. Yeh lost all yer powers didn't yeh? And Sarah, well, she lost all of us!" He grimaced at the once powerful Goblin King "Serves yeh right then, what's happened here. Selfish King! Got what he wanted, didn't he? But all of us? Suffering since yeh left. Even poor Sarah, never did a thing to yeh and now she ain't got no good memories of us at all." He turned to leave, throwing Jareth one more dirty look before making a rude noise and starting to walk away.

As he passed Ludo, the big beast picked him up by his collar and held him in front of his eyes, giving him a little shake. "Hoggle, bad! Hoggle, very, bad! We come help friends, Jareth, Sarah. Help remember. Help win!"

Tentatively, Sarah moved from behind Jareth. Her hand was still shaking as she grasped Jareth's, betraying some of the fear she was feeling, but she was proud her voice sounded strong. "I am very tired, we've walked such a long way. Is there somewhere we could sit and rest before we get to wherever it is we're going?"

"Put me down you furry lump!" Hoggle cried out. Kicking dirt at Ludo when he got to the ground he turned to the couple.

"Of course, My Queen, right through here!" Sir Didymus said, leading the way through the bushes. Almost immediately they arrived at a camp. A huge fire was going in the center and there were a few tents set up nearby.

Jareth guided Sarah to a log beside the fire as Hoggle went over to a table and produced wooden cups filled to the brim with a sweet smelling liquid. He limbered back and gave the cups to Jareth and Sarah. After watching Jareth drink his, she took a small sip then finished the rest without a breath. Feeling strangely rejuvenated, she turned once again to her husband, looking for answers. This time, Jareth knew where to begin.


	5. Memories Revealed

Chapter 5 - Memories Revealed

"Let me tell you a story, Sarah. Once upon a time, there was a young girl, about 15 years old. She had a brother named Toby, whom she didn't like very much. One dark and stormy night she wished that the goblins would come and take him away, and much to her surprise, they did. The Goblin King came and she pleaded with him to give her brother back. But that had not been the arrangement. So he challenged her to solve his Labyrinth in order to break the wish and take her brother back."

"Along the way she met many creatures she came to call friends, for they helped her through the maze and reach the castle." Sir Didymus broke in gently hoping it would help her remember. Sarah's turned to look at him for a moment before Jareth continued.

"This girl's bravery and skill impressed the Goblin King so much that he offered her a place next to him on his throne. But she turned him down, breaking the King's heart. After that, nothing mattered to him, except winning the love of the girl. No matter what the cost." Jareth finished his story there. He did not yet want to continue, more for his own sake than hers.

Sarah listened to this story. She had read it before, she knew it almost by heart. But hearing it now, in this setting, with these creatures sitting all around her, something seemed to fit. As if she could feel herself moving through those words, completing the tasks being told to her. If only she could remember...she wished she could remember! There was a sudden pain in her head and something that sounded like a great 'SNAP' resounded in her ears. The pain was so great that she stood, grasping her head with both hands. As soon as it had come, it was gone and she remembered. She remembered that night she had watched Toby. She remembered calling out to the Goblin King to take him away. She remembered the Labyrinth and the words she had spoken to get Toby and herself back home and safe again. But most of all, she remembered Jareth, the Goblin King. How he had looked, how he had treated her, the words he had spoken to her that night as well. What did this mean? They were Married, but he was one in the same as the man who had caused her so much trial and tribulation so many years ago? How could that be? She slowly brought her hands away from her face, trembling almost violently. Although she didn't want to, she looked at the faces around the fire, watching her with concern. Well almost all of them looked concerned. Jareth's face was as it had been that night. Intense, but not all that interested at the same time.

"Sarah?" Hoggle inquired gently.

No words came to mind, so she just turned and ran. She didn't know where she was going and didn't care. Her life was a falsity, nothing was real. Had she been dreaming of the life they had made for themselves? Had she dreamt everything that had happened after the Labyrinth? It must have been a powerful spell woven for her to have consented to Marry Jareth, the most arrogant and evil creature she knew. How could she have let this happen? Not watching where she was going, she came up short, almost running off the side of a great chasm. She cried out and grabbed onto a small tree for support.

"Hey, watch it! Get off!" it growled at her, shaking her off.

Getting to her feet, tears swimming in her eyes, she took a step forward and stopped dead. Jareth was walking towards her. "Stay away from me." she said as strongly as she could. It was strange to be looking at a man she thought she had known so well, who was actually a stranger to her.

"Sarah. This is all very shocking to you, but it is all true."

"I don't know what's real anymore."

"Our love is real. You must feel that."

"Love? Is that what you call this trickery? What spell did you put on me, Jareth? Was anything we ever had ever real?" she asked him, taking a step backwards.

Jareth looked panicked for a moment and reached out for her, afraid that she would fall. "You have no idea what I gave up for you. What I went through to get to you." he sounded calm and had stopped moving, afraid of scaring her off the cliff.

"What YOU went through? Is it always about you? You stole my baby brother, wanted me to fail at the task you yourself gave me, came to MY world and tricked me into Marrying you! You WANTED me to fail in the Labyrinth the first time!" her hands were in tight fists at her side and all she wanted to do was hit him.

"I gave up everything for you! Literally. I am no longer the 'King' I used to be. My powers were taken away and I am mortal, like you. Fated to die a death that I never imagined. All of this was done because I loved you. Even then, in the Labyrinth, I could have destroyed any of the creatures who helped you. I could have stopped you at any moment, sent you back home to where you belonged, keeping Toby for myself. I'll say it again, Sarah, I am exhausted living up to your expectations of me!" Jareth's face showed his anger, although it wasn't completely aimed at her. He hadn't expected this part of the program to go smoothly. Her memories of him were not of the life they had made in her world, they were of the King who had hurt her, who had been too young to see what her was giving her.

"I did not expect any of this." Sarah said quietly. "My life is not my own. I have nothing to stand on now. Where do we go from here?" her eyes radiated with hurt, anger and confusion.

"You stop Angor from destroying your home." Came a rough voice from behind Jareth. "And you, come away from that ledge, those rocks are not steady." Hoggle limped into view, coming between them, looking at both of them as if they were children fighting over a toy.

Sarah took a step forward and sat on the ground hard. Her mind was still whirling with images from her last adventure here. She felt a hand on her head and looked up at her long forgotten friend. Throwing her arms around him she said "I'm sorry I forgot you, Hoggle."

Jareth's heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He had been a fool. A fool for giving up his throne for a girl. A girl who no longer wanted him or anything he had to offer her. He turned away from Sarah and Hoggle, stalking his way back to their make shift camp for the night, deep in the Labyrinth. When he came into view, the others looked at him, wanting to know what had happened. He sneered at them and threw himself into his tent. A few moments later, Sarah and Hoggle came back, hand in hand.

"You can take my tent." he told her. She just looked at him, not sure what to say. "Well, go on then."

"Thank you." She said quietly before slipping inside. She wasn't sure how she was going to sleep that night. There were still so many questions she needed answers to.


	6. Chapter 6 Another World Indeed

Chapter 6 – Another World Indeed

Sarah could not sleep, not that she expected she would. There were so many questions that were yet unanswered. More so than there had been mere hours ago. She had reluctantly changed into the flowing gown meant for her to sleep in. It was too long for her and the robe on top of it made her feel almost regal, as if she was playing dress up or about ready to go to a ball.

There was a dressing table across from the bed with a mirror where she finally sat. When she looked at her reflection she was astonished at her appearance. After everything she had been through that day, hiking through miles of forest, running, crying and feeling ragged and confused, her appearance showed none of it. Her hair was silky and carried a slight wave, as if she had just washed it and her face was glowing with natural beauty she had never noticed before. The magic of the Underground made subtle changes to everyone in it, she supposed. In fact, looking more closely around the tent, she was sure that Hoggle would not have had many of the items laying about. It had changed based on what she might need.

As Sarah was contemplating this, she caught a slight movement out of the corner of her eye. Focusing on it, she froze knowing nothing good could come of the crystal floating its way towards her. Standing, she took a breath feeling it catch in her chest as the crystal continued to move closer until it stopped in front of her. Now that it was so close, she could see swirling colors inside. Closing her eyes for a moment as her head began to swim, she let her breath out slowly to steady herself for whatever was about to come.

When Sarah opened her eyes, the colors inside the crystal were now gone. Replacing them was a picture of Jareth, much like she had seen him for the first time within the Labyrinth. He was pacing in a large room by himself, as if waiting for her to join him. Sighing, Sarah began to stretch out a trembling hand to touch the hovering glass ball. She figured they did have much to talk about and they might as well have at it in his castle if anyplace. Her stomach dropped as she fell forward through time and space. Then in the blink of an eye, she was sitting harshly on the ground in front of a set of thick wooden double doors.

Hearing the pacing footsteps inside cease, she guessed she was in the right place.

As she swung the great, heavy doors inward she saw a man sitting on a windowsill. He was dressed in black with hair to match and as he turned to her, a cruel smile on his lips she saw that it was Jareth. A breath escaped her lungs, as she strode towards him. It would be like him to draw her here, back to the castle where it had all began so many years ago. She wondered how he had done it, conjuring a crystal and bringing her here. Hadn't Hoggle said something about his losing his powers? Well, it obviously hadn't been true because here she was, standing in front of him.


	7. Chapter 7 Family Ties

Chapter 7 – Family Ties

"Well, Sarah. I'm glad you decided to join us." he said, standing.

Sarah continued her walk toward him and didn't stop until she was directly in front of him. Then she slapped him across the face, trembling with her anger. "How dare you! It wasn't enough that you took away my memories, but now that I have them back you take me from my friends again?" She raised her hand again only to have him grab her wrist with a grip like steel making her cry out in pain.

"Well, well! my dear brother had told me you had a temper. Now I think I believe him." He smiled broader and brought his face closer to hers to bask in her sudden confusion at his words. "Didn't he tell you that is no way for a Queen to act?"

For a moment, Sarah hadn't comprehended the words. The pain was making her comprehension sluggish. Then she was sure he had said 'brother' and it made her look more closely at the man still squeezing her wrist. He did look very much like Jareth, save for the black hair. And where Jareth's eyes were gold and blue, this man's eyes were black and gray. A very menacing look indeed. As realization came into her eyes, he turned her roughly to face the opposite wall.

"Well, Jareth, look who came to join us in our most happy reunion. Your Bride-Queen."

It was then that Sarah noticed the figure on the floor. He was lying on his side and attempting to get to his knees. When he did get there, he looked at her with pain filled eyes. "Sarah.." he said with difficulty, gasping for breath.

Sarah tried to run to him, but was held back by another slice of pain through her wrist and hand. Not taking her eyes off Jareth, she addressed her captor. "Who are you? What have you done to him? To the Labyrinth?"

His laughter filled her ears as he pulled her close to him, holing her in a mock embrace. "I am your brother-in-law, my dear! My name is Angor, Jareth's blood brother and now ruler of the Labyrinth and the lands beyond. My rightful place if I do say so myself!"

"Your rightful place, brother?" Jareth's voice came roughly from across the room. He was standing now, his breathing no longer as labored, but he was favoring his left shoulder slightly. "If it was your rightful place, why wasn't it bestowed upon you in the first place?"

Angor hissed in his anger at that remark, but refrained from using any more magic. There was a time and place for everything after all. "Ah, Jareth. Always trying to be logical. Is it not true in fact that you had me banned from your kingdom just so I could not even attempt to defy you?"

"That was not my doing and you know it. If you had merely asked," a wave of pain hit him again, sending him to the floor once more.

"If I had only asked? You would not even respond to my pleas. And now, I have what I have always wanted. A Queen to do my every bidding, and you, dear brother begging me for mercy."

"I am NOT your Queen." Sarah said through clenched teeth. She may have been a bit taken aback by all that had happened that night and all that she had learned, but she knew that it had not been completely Jareth's doing. And now to see her Husband in so much pain at the hands of this madman, she was intent to see it came to an end.

"What did you say, my dear?" Angor asked her at the same time that Jareth spoke.

"Sarah, no. Do what he says, he has the magic of the Underground now. I will find a way to make this right, I swear to you."

"Oh, will you? This might be fun. In fact let's play a little game, shall we? I might as well have some fun as you did with me for so long. I think I read this in an Aboveground book sometime ago. You have three days to get through the Labyrinth, MY Labyrinth to rescue the fair damsel in the tower. If you should succeed in getting through the dangers of the new Labyrinth I will let you live, Aboveground, permanently banished from my kingdom forever. If you do not survive, then I will still rule with my Queen at my side. Either way, you will be gone from my sight forever."

With that, Angor waved his hand and Jareth was gone.

"I Love You!" Sarah screamed with all her might, hoping that the message would carry over the Labyrinth somehow. Before she could think, she was suddenly in a very, very dark room. There was no light whatsoever from anywhere. She could only hope it was the tower that Angor had spoke of and that she was alone.

Jareth was whisked away on a torrent of wind, landingd harshly on the ground. As the wind died away he could swear he heard Sarah's voice saying 'I Love You' before being gone from his ears. His journey was now beginning and he could only hope that without his beloved powers, which had helped him through the Labyrinth before, he would be able to figure out a way to rescue Sarah and his throne.


	8. Chapter 8 The Journey Begins

Chapter 8 – The Journey Begins

Sarah stood very, very still, straining her ears in the silence and darkness for any sign that she might not be alone. Fear prickled the hairs at the nape of her neck. After a moment or two of not being able to hear or see anything, she decided her best bet was to sit down where she was. Who knew where she was exactly. It could be at the bottom of an oubliette for all she knew. And she certainly did not want to go walking into a deeper hole, or into the Bog of eternal Stench if she could help it.

Stretching her hands out slowly in front of her, Sarah tried to get a feeling for her prison. Beneath her fingers a familiar smoothness could be felt, with ridges every so often giving her the impression that she was not in an oubliette after all, but a room with a wood covered floor. Tapping lightly against it, she tried to listen to see if it was hollow underneath, which she was hoping could tell her if she was on the ground floor of the castle or somewhere near the top. She startled and froze when there was an answering knock somewhere near her head.

* * *

Jareth stood and stretched, almost lazily until he felt the pain in his shoulder. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he began walking along the outer wall. He knew his way around the Labyrinth well enough. Of course this was no longer his Labyrinth, he began pondering while searching for the hidden entrances that were scattered about. With his magic, he would have been able to simply wave his hand and the entrances would show themselves. Now, however he would have to call upon his memory to recall the trickery he had once placed here. 

It was not an easy task. He had been 100 years younger then and had had many good ideas since then. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something move a little behind him. He stopped and looked at the wall. It looked solid enough. Placing a careful hand out, he felt the wall in front of him. It was solid. No hidden entrance here. Once he began walking again, he saw the same movement behind him. A sly grin came over his face as he walked sideways, through the wall and into the Labyrinth.

"Well done if I do say so myself!" he said quietly, feeling proud. He could almost remember the day he had placed that spell on this part of the wall. It had been the first time someone had wished their little sibling away. Wanting to create as much of a frustration as possible, he placed a shifting spell on the bricks on the wall. As the young woman walked along, she never noticed that the entrance was always right next to her, until she stopped moving. He chuckled to himself. "That first girl was as dumb as a Goblin child!" Nothing like his Sarah.

His laughter was cut short as he stepped into a hidden pit on the path.

* * *

There was no other indication that anyone else had been in the darkness with her until she had heard the answering knock. Trembling, Sarah reached out and knocked again. This time the answering knock was accompanied by high pitched voices, again sounding somewhere near her head. 

"Hello?" Sarah asked tentatively. Her voice betrayed too much fear for her liking.

"Someone's here! Someone's here!" said the voices. There were more than one and seemed to have a tinkling quality to them.

Sarah looked toward the voices even though she could see nothing. "Yes, I'm here. Who are you?"

"Who are you? Who are you?" the voices answered.

"I'm Sarah."

The voices were silent.

"Angor captured me and sent Jareth into the Labyrinth." She hoped giving them more information might help them keep talking. There was no reply again. "A..are you captured too?"

"Sarah? Sarah? Jareth's Sarah? Jareth's Sarah?" the voices tinkled. "He captured the Goblin Queen! He captured the Goblin Queen!"

Sarah felt dread rising in her chest. Goblin Queen. She was Married the the Goblin King. Of the Underground. Oh my, she thought, this IS really happening. All of it! In the darkness she had been semi-hoping to wake up and have everything back the way she knew it. But she knew in her heart it was the truth, she could feel the difference in her bones.

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty?" the voices tinkled in question. It had been her turn to be silent.

"Please, call me Sarah. Where are we? Who are you? Why is it so dark?" she asked almost at once.

Laughter tinkled in the air briefly. "Wish it to be light. Wish it to be light."

"Wish it?" she asked almost to herself. There had been a time when wishing got her into trouble and she hesitated before saying, "I wish it to be light!"

Almost immediately the room lightened. Sarah had to shield her eyes against the sudden difference. After a moment, she opened her eyes slowly. Several large torches had lighted themselves in many corners of the room. She was surprised to see how large of a space it was. However, when she took a closer look around the grand room, she jumped up from her seat on the floor and gasped in fear and shock.

* * *

Jareth cursed as he fell into a very large spider's web. As he struggled with it the web began vibrating. He abruptly fell quiet but the vibrating became more and more until a very large spider was walking toward him. Her black body glistened in the light sky as she came closer. A bright orange circle peeked out from on her belly and her pincers snapped together in excitement at her prey. For a brief moment he was frightened until he recognized the Spider-Queen herself.

"Arachnalia! My Queen, it is so good to see you again." he said in his most pleasant tone.

The Queen did not return the greeting, however. Nor did she bother to sting him with her poison. She simply walked to his feet and busily began binding him up in something the was beginning to resemble a cocoon.

"Your Majesty, do you not recognize fellow Royalty?" Jareth said, his fear returning before he had a chance to stop it.

The Spider-Queen looked up at him then, judging him with her many eyes before returning hastily to her work. She had many children to feed and this specimen would do nicely.

"Arachnalia, please! You must listen to me! I am King Jareth, the Goblin King!"

"Stop buggering now and hold still." she told him calmly. "My children have not fed in a week, not many visitors to these parts since Angor took over for you. You will do nicely to make their tummy's full."

Jareth was about to lose his temper. "Now listen here, I have no magic to prove it to you, but I AM the Goblin King!"

Arachnalia stopped her work and sat with her many legs folded under her. She again looked him over. "Now then, if you ARE the Goblin King you WOULD have magic in this realm, but seeing that you don't have any magic, how would you plan on proving it then, hmmmm?" she asked again calmly before standing up once more and this time working faster than before. Once he was all nicely bundled he wouldn't be able to talk anymore and her children could finally eat.

Jareth tried struggling again, but it only made the cocoon tighter around his legs. She was almost up to his belly button now, and he was beginning to panic. Then fate intervened. "Hey, you there! Goblin!" he yelled at the fateful passerby.

The Goblin stopped, turned and gave a sharp yelp when he recognized his former King caught up in a spider's web. Then he sneered at the man and made a rude noise in his direction before carrying on.

"Please, Goblin-Friend. Help your former ruler. Tell the Queen who I am!"

The Goblin stopped abruptly and turned back. "What did you's ever do for us Goblin's when you's was ruler? Hmmmm??" He looked up at the helpless ex-king and scratched the end of his large nose with gnarled fingers.

Jareth smirked at the Goblin. "My castle was always open to you and there was always food and drink. Not to mention work, with meager but appropriate wages. I kept up the Labyrinth for you and gave you anything you needed."

"And then yeh left us here to that, that, that monster! Whaddya think happened to the Labyrinth? And all your hospitality? Food and drink? Our work? Wages? Gone! Nuddin left but scraps! All fer a girl! And not a pretty girl at that! Left us all yeh did! Left us tah suffer!" the Goblin said angrily.

Jareth listened and could feel the heat rising up his face as the ugly Goblin spoke. It was when he got to the part about Sarah that it happened. A small round crystal flew out of nowhere and smacked the Goblin right on his pock-marked nose. Everything stopped. Arachnalia turned and looked at the Goblin holding his nose and staring at Jareth in disbelief.

"OUCH! Now how'd yeh manage that? Eh? No magic my feet!" the Goblin complained and waddled on his way again, rubbing his nose.

Arachnalia turned back to Jareth and looked at him in her calm manner. "Why is the once mighty King of the Goblin's here, in the Labyrinth?"

"Angor captured my Queen and I. In order to save her, I must get through the Labyrinth and back to the castle. But without my magic, it may be more difficult than I anticipated."

The Spider-Queen looked at him with her many eyes and slowly bent to begin cutting the cocoon with her pincers. Once she was finished, she unhooked a few ties from her web and shook him gently off. As she began weaving the holes back together she spoke to him, sounding a bit sad that her children would have to wait for their supper.

"Your magic was never totally gone, for you are one with this place. Now that you are back in the Underground once again it will come back little by little. The longer you are here, the more it will fill you, until you are back to full power."

Jareth gave the Queen a genuine smile and bowed deeply to her. "Your Majesty I owe you my life. I thank you."

"Destroy Angor's rule and restore our Labyrinth." she stated simply, turning a walking back up her web. Before she entered a hole in the wall next to her, she looked back at Jareth. "You only need to call upon us in your time of need, Sire." Then she scurried into the hole and was gone.


End file.
